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Sunday 14 Jun 2015 - 10:55 Makkah mean time-27-8-1436
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Belfast, Northern Ireland (IINA) - Muslim students at Queen’s University of Belfast (QUB) in Northern Ireland have launched a campaign demanding the university to allocate a prayer room, according to media reports.
This call is to accommodate the growing number of Muslim students who are being forced to pray in corridors and libraries.
“If we had a room to ourselves it would be easier for our females, to be honest,” Muslim student Nadira Nazir, who is from Malaysia, told BBC on Friday.
“We have to rush between classes to find any empty classrooms available and just go in and do our prayers.
“Sometimes you get students already coming into the class and they see us praying. I am glad for their understanding as they have to wait for us to finish before they start their lecture, because we are literally using their class.”
Speaking to the BBC Radio's Ulster Talkback program, Ahmed Amer stressed that most other universities in England and in the Republic of Ireland have dedicated rooms for prayer as well as at the University of Ulster.
“Having a prayer room on campus is just a sign that the university is accommodating the needs of its students,” he said.
The campaign for dedicated prayer space is being backed by the Right Rev Dónal McKeown, the bishop of Derry.
“Accordingly, the university is currently reviewing all amenities in the context of its charter and statutes to ensure that staff and students from all backgrounds have access to appropriate facilities.”
In a statement, the university said: “A key priority in the Vision 2020 strategy for QUB is to increase the number of international students studying at the university."
SM/IINA
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